Chapter 26: The Birth of the First True Fans (Part Three)
Li Shixin calculated that the flavor of the chewing gum was already fading, so he stepped out from the center of the dance floor.
As soon as he left, the atmosphere couldn’t quite reach its previous excitement, yet the crowd didn’t disperse. Instead, a thunderous cheer erupted.
Beep!
Seeing his system instantly gain 13,540 points of applause and hearing the elderly ladies beside him whisper, “That old man is so handsome,” Li Shixin chuckled to himself.
Tonight’s walk wasn’t wasted after all.
...
After a while, seeing that Li Shixin had no intention of dancing again, groups of onlookers gradually lost interest and drifted away.
Only the original members of the square dance troupe and the young people from the Youth Palace remained.
The square dance troupe appeared, on the surface, to be a cultural organization. But in reality, it was a small social matchmaking group under the guise of dancing.
To put it bluntly: seventy percent of the elderly men and women who went out daily for square dancing and were hooked on it had no spouse.
And now, having just led the atmosphere of the entire venue, able to sing, dance, and even rap, Li Shixin, though only joining the circle at Gongti Square for the first time today, instantly became the center of attention for the elderly ladies.
Watching as the women he fancied surrounded the newcomer Li Shixin, a group of lonely old men huddled together for comfort, their mouths turned down as they watched Li Shixin bask in the admiration of the crowd.
“It’s just disco, isn’t it? I can dance too! Ugh, my back...”
“Hmph! It’s only singing—when I was young... but a real man doesn’t boast about the past.”
“Rapping, you say? My Jingdong drum is far more melodious! These old ladies, really, no taste at all.”
Unaware that he’d become the nemesis of the old men, Li Shixin was troubled.
He wanted to slip home at once, but a group of elderly ladies had him surrounded, making it impossible to move.
Especially the dance troupe leader, Li Mingxi, who held onto him tightly. “Oh, tonight was such a delight! It’s been years since I danced disco like this. Ever since I had children, I never jumped like that again. Old brother, you’re really in good shape!”
“Ah, not bad,” Li Shixin replied with an awkward laugh.
“By the way, old brother, you look unfamiliar. Where do you live? Is it nearby? Our square dance team still needs a deputy leader. How about you come and help out?”
“Well, you see, I’m busy, might not be able to come out every day. Let’s talk about it later, okay?”
Seeing the leader’s face blossom with a smile as she pulled out her phone to ask for his number, Li Shixin hurriedly freed his arm from her grasp, saying, “Well now, sister, I have things to do at home. If I get back late, they’ll worry. I’ll be off; you all keep having fun!”
“Hey?” Watching Li Shixin flee, Li Mingxi slapped her thigh, “What’s the rush? Add me on WeChat before you go! Old brother, old brother? Where do you live, what’s your name?”
...
Escaping from the horde of adoring elderly ladies and bidding farewell to Dye and the young crowd, Li Shixin quickly slipped out of Gongti Square.
Just as he left, he encountered Zhao Jinzhi standing by the roadside.
“Hey, you haven’t left yet, sister?”
Li Shixin felt grateful for this elderly lady—not out of affection, but because she had helped him twice tonight, proving to be a decent person.
Seeing him, Zhao Jinzhi smiled and nodded, “Yes, I’m getting old. After dancing with you just now, my legs are weak. Waiting here for a ride.”
“Oh.” Li Shixin nodded, “Take your time, then.”
With that, he jogged away.
“Hey?”
Watching his retreating figure, Zhao Jinzhi was momentarily lost in thought.
As Li Shixin disappeared around the corner, she shook her head helplessly.
Though they’d only met once, she felt this old man was rather interesting.
How to put it—she saw in this man, who seemed much older than herself, a vitality that was slipping away from her own life.
She felt a bit jealous, a bit curious.
She had wanted to ask for his number.
Screech...
Just as she was feeling inexplicably forlorn, a Mercedes-Maybach stopped by the curb.
The driver hurried out.
“Chairwoman, sorry for the delay—there’s traffic at the intersection.”
Zhao Jinzhi composed herself, smiled and shook her head that it was nothing, and with the driver’s help, got into the car.
“Home.”
Through the window, she gazed deeply at the street corner, then waved her hand and softly instructed the driver fastening the seatbelt.
...
Li Mingxi was a little frustrated.
As the leading lady near Gongti, which old man in the dance troupe didn’t circle around her?
But despite losing her spouse over a decade ago, Li Mingxi had no intention of finding another.
So those old men who diligently courted her, she never paid any heed.
Tonight, finally, someone had stirred her long-dormant heart—and he, in turn, ignored her!
On the way home, Li Mingxi thought to herself: that old man must be new to the area. If she ventured out more these days, perhaps she’d meet him again.
Such lively and interesting old men were rare now.
Even as she walked upstairs, Li Mingxi’s mind lingered on Li Shixin’s figure, who seemed ten years younger just by his presence.
Entering her home and changing into slippers, she quietly settled onto the sofa.
Her son and daughter-in-law worked out of town; it was just herself and her granddaughter, who was still in middle school.
At this hour, her granddaughter was probably studying in her room.
Staring at the empty house, Li Mingxi sighed sorrowfully.
Her husband had been gone for over ten years; loneliness had set in.
“I’m telling you all, hurry up! What’s with playing LOL or PUBG? Our Xin has suffered so much tonight, skipped evening classes to stand guard at home, and none of you are allowed to leave! If we don’t completely overrun that old man’s Weibo tonight, how can Xin’s Little Den ever hold its head high in the Xin Fans Family?”
“Ha! That’s right! That’s what my good brothers and sisters should do! All right, everyone, listen to my command! Attack the old man’s Weibo! Let’s completely take over his comment section by midnight! Charge!!”
Hmm?
Hearing a loud shout from her granddaughter’s bedroom, Li Mingxi frowned.
She got up and pushed open the door.
“My dear, why didn’t you go to class tonight?” she asked, but the twin-tailed girl wearing headphones and frantically typing didn’t hear.
“Hey? This kid!” Without another word, Li Mingxi strode in and yanked off her granddaughter’s headset. “Chen Boshi, I’m asking you, why didn’t you go to your tutoring session tonight?”
“Oh! Grandma, when did you get home?” The startled girl blinked her long-lashed big eyes and pouted, “Evening study? It doesn’t matter whether I go or not.”
Li Mingxi nodded, indulging her only companion at home. She knew her granddaughter was lying but didn’t expose her. Instead, she gently patted the girl’s twin-tailed head and asked kindly, “Boshi, what are you shouting about in here?”
“Oh!” The girl tossed her head and hugged her grandmother’s arm. “Grandma~ let me tell you, this is so infuriating. You know my favorite star, when filming, was framed by an old man. That old man even slandered him, saying he acted high and mighty and pushed him! So shameless!”
“Really?” Li Mingxi was curious.
“Yes! Let me show you.” The girl released her grandmother’s arm, grabbed the mouse, and clicked rapidly, pulling up a scene from "The Forbidden Fate."
“Grandma, look, that’s the shameless old man!”
“????!!!!”
Seeing the weathered face on the computer screen, Li Mingxi was stunned.
“What... what’s his name?”
“Li Shixin! He’s a veteran actor who’s only been at Rongdian for a few days. Hmph, fancy him having ‘xin’—meaning honesty—in his name, he’s anything but honest!”
Chen Boshi grumbled, embellishing the tale of Li Shixin’s trouble on set, then nudged her grandmother.
“Oh, Grandma, go watch the news, I need to keep scolding him! Tonight I must make that old man lose ten thousand followers, or I won’t be able to vent my anger!”
“Huh? Grandma? Grandma?”
She pushed twice but got no response, so she looked up at her grandmother.
Li Mingxi was now cold-faced, squinting at the Weibo page, watching the vulgar insults refresh endlessly.
“Grandma? What’s wrong?”
“Chen Boshi, stand up!”
With a loud command, the girl jumped off her computer chair in fright.
“Stand at attention, properly!”
Seeing her grandmother shout at her with unprecedented severity, Chen Boshi’s big eyes immediately filled with tears.
“Grandma, what are you doing?!”
She was deeply aggrieved.
“BlueSky202, calling BlueSky202, Commander, are you there? The main leader of Xin Fans Family is asking you to bring backup to the forum! Please respond, please respond!”
A voice came from the computer.